Finding You
by vivid.vagueness
Summary: Happily-ever-afters are the scope of fairy tales, not of real life. What would it take for them to believe otherwise?


Hinata's POV

A prince and a princess. A match made in heaven. Perfection, or so we'd like to think. For the nobility, love and marriage do not converge. Fairy tales, love at first sight, the damsel in distress, the knight in shining armor, the happily ever after - all fiction. Early on we learn to resign ourselves to duty and responsibility, not-so-secret affairs, young mistresses, silence and secrets, one night stands, and illegitimate children. We hide behind a stable facade where kings stay faithful to their queens, and queens have eyes for none other than their kings. We watch each other's spirits wither a little each day. And the cycle continues.

I do not believe in love in the world of royalty, but I do believe in love beyond this realm.

* * *

Shino's POV

A fair maiden she is, this bride of mine to be. But pictures are merely images, just like what the rest of us maintain. So, I am to meet her this evening. She looks every bit like a child with that dreamy stare of hers, and here I am to wreck that childhood innocence. We're both merely victims to this curse of monarchy. We'll spend the rest of our lives together but apart. She does not have me, and she never will for I belong to another.

I will obtain my freedom by taking hers.

* * *

"Shino, it is critical that you make this marriage happen. You understand the repercussions to our kingdom if this falls through, do you not?"

"Yes, father."

"You have to win her, by all means possible. After she is promised to you and an heir is produced, you can discard of her as you wish."

"It shall be so."

Shino slid open the door to his father's private chambers and bowed before standing up to leave. A few paces on he saw an all too familiar silhouette. The girl with whom he has reached the heights of intimacy, his forbidden love.

"So is it true? This news I hear of your engagement?" She puffed out a breath of smoke and cautiously eyed him, not turning to face him.

"I see the rumors spread fast." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled down one side of her already loose kimono. Then he proceeded to trail kisses on her neck and shoulder. Her breath hitched. The cigarette dropped.

"Sh-shino..."

"Ino, you know that I am yours, and yours alone." He turned her around and pinned her to the wall. As he groped her right breast, the torch lights flickered lightly in the dim corridor.

"And I am yours." As she moved in to kiss him, his hand halted her advance.

"No. You belong to my father as his wretched concubine. When was the last time he bedded you? Last night? A few days ago? Last week?" His knee set her leg apart and he started kneading her to wetness. As she moaned, he took his hand off her mouth and hungrily kissed her. They broke apart with lustful stares.

"Shino, you know that whenever he lays his hands on me..." She took his hands and trailed them down her body - her breasts, her waist, her hips. "...whenever he defiles me..." She leaned in to lick his right ear, sending shivers down his spine. "...whenever he fucks me, it is you I am thinking of." She lightly glazed over his crotch and felt his throbbing manhood. It was all he could take as he brought her up against the wall and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

There they made love silently, so close to the danger of being discovered.

* * *

She watched her father pace back and forth across the room, each step further increasing the dreadful emotions stirring up within her. Then he spoke.

"Hinata, tomorrow you will turn eighteen. And I believe you are quite aware of the implications of reaching such an age." She silently prayed he was referring to other things but she knew all too well of the inevitable.

"Tonight, on the eve of your birth date, three princes from our ally nations will compete for your hand in marriage. The final decision will rest upon you. You will be wed tomorrow and you will go live with your husband in his home country." There it was, she was being given away so easily by parents who never saw her as theirs but rather as a pawn to be used for the benefit of the monarchy. Leaving them wouldn't be so hard because no relationship existed in the first place.

"The servants will prepare you for the engagement ceremony this afternoon. This will be your last free morning in this household. You are dismissed."

With a heavy heart, Hinata tarried around her home, taking in all she would leave behind in but a few hours. She found herself in the garden that had always been her sanctuary. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, feeling grief wash over her. She never really had a life, and she never will. This was her fate, her destiny - a sacrificial pawn for the sake of her nation's peace.

"Hina-hime..." she was jolted awake by the whisper causing her to trip over her own kimono but was caught just as she was about to hit the ground. She peeked one eye open and came face to face with -

"Naruto! You idiot. Get me up, get me up." After dusting herself off and giving a look of contempt to her childhood friend, he started laughing wildly.

"S-st-stop laughing at me!" She had her hands on her waist but couldn't maintain a stern look as the boy calmed down to catch his breath.

"Whoo that was a good laugh. It's just hehehe your hair. So many twigs and leaves and pfft..." Naruto erupted in another bout of laughter as Hinata tried to pry off all unwanted natural ornaments in her straight, long, black hair. He lifter his hand to take out a missed leaf and their eyes met. She held his gaze for a moment then he rapidly turned away blushing and stretching and muttering about a good ramen joint. She raced after him and hey walked side by side.

"So, Naruto, you stole past our guards again, I assume."

"Why wouldn't I? The whole town knows you're leaving tomorrow! A-and I just wanted to say goodbye to you properly." A look of sadness crossed her face as her worries resurfaced. Naruto thought fast.

"Hey! C'mon don't be so dim. I-I'll um, take you to town! You've always wanted to know how I get in and out without being noticed right? Let's go, I'll show you." He led her by the hand through hedges and bushes, stopping once in a while to check for guards. A few minutes later, they arrived at a clearing. She was panting for all the running.

"See, Hina-hime, there's no border separating your garden from the local forest, just those pesky guards. Hey, are you alright?" She was leaning on a tree, face flushed and rosy. He could only stare in amazement.

"W-what? Is there something on my face now?" He snapped out of his reverie and shook his head.

"You absolutely cannot go to town in those clothes, too stand-out-ish. Follow me."

* * *

Shino arrived early in the country of his fiancee-to-be. He took in the sights and sounds and smells and feel of the place - the life he never had.

"Shino-sama, we have made reservations for the day. You may proceed to the inn when you wish." Shino nodded in silent approval, then off he was to discover the town.

* * *

Hinata was lost. She had only been to town twice before but never alone like this. She lost Naruto some ways back when he disappeared following the strong scent of ramen, leaving her in an unknown side street. She had to admit that in spite of his street smarts and mischievous cleverness, the boy was a total idiot, but a good friend nevertheless. She met him at age eight after picking flowers from the same garden they escaped from. They became quick friends after he bribed her with some sweets to stay quiet. As they grew older, she learned that Naruto was orphaned at birth and he now lived with his uncle who wrote some indecent novels for a living. She was immediately drawn in by his stories, and every meeting was something she looked forward to. This was to be the last, though.

"Oompf -" She felt the air evacuate her lungs as she fell on her butt.

"Hey, watch it brat. Oi! What do we have here? Not a brat but a maiden, ehehe. You'll have to make it up to me for that little accident." The brute held Hinata roughly by the arm.

"P-pl-please l-let go. It hu-hurts." She could smell the liquor on the man's breath, it made her want to puke.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shino saw a burly man harassing a young lady. Figures, it happens everywhere. The girl probably did something stupid anyway. He was about to walk on when a glimmer caught his gaze. It was the girl's necklace of pure sapphire, the clarity couldn't be mistaken. And sapphire was used mainly in -

"...the Hyuuga crest!"

Shino made his way swiftly through the crowd. He was a trained warrior, a silent killer.

Hinata was trembling uncontrollably then she felt the man's grip loosen. And he fell with a large thud sideways.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, he's dead. Oh no, what do I do?" She began fussing over the unconscious man when her peripheral vision caught a figure standing at the end of the street.

"He's not dead, merely tranquilized." A lie of course, to calm the princess down. The poison at the end of his weapons are always at fatal doses.

He helped her up and came level with her eyes - pure and beautiful. His opposite hand lifted unconsciously and his thumb swept across her tear stained cheek. Her lightly apart lips teased him and he slowly moved in til they were mere inches apart. Her heart was beating voraciously.

"Hina-hime! Hina-hime! Where are you!" The shouting boy brought Shino and Hinata back to their senses. Hinata was the first to speak.

"Ah- I have to go. May I know to whom it is I owe my life?"

"Aburame Shino"

With that, he kissed her hand and watched her flee, meeting her eyes when she glanced back. The gods of luck were smiling upon him indeed.


End file.
